Thursday 05/23/13

Farmers have been able to make good strides in seeding progress during the middle of May. Weather has been good for the most part, with few rainy days that have stalled or slowed seeding activity. A little bit of a bump in the road is due during the next few days, as low pressure slides slowly eastward through the southern Prairies and brings periods of rain and showers.

The rains are not totally unwelcome for western areas where May has gotten off to a dry start, but for Manitoba plentiful rains on top of the wet soils from the recent snow melt is still keeping farmers out of some fields. Soil moisture conditions are generally in good shape across Alberta and Saskatchewan as late May arrives favoring crop emergence during the next few weeks.

The weather pattern that has evolved during the recent couple of weeks has brought much higher temperatures and less rainfall to the Canadian Prairies and allowed the high flood potential of April, due to unusually deep snow, to melt away with much less fanfare than most were expecting. Favorable planting weather developed more quickly than it first appeared during May with planting progress not as far behind as first feared.

The future weather conditions, as advertised by our most reliable computer models, continue the pattern of generally good weather for the finish of seeding and the emergence of crops. Some rain and showers through this weekend do not look particularly heavy and as stated above may be favorable for some western areas. Another period of dry weather is due for next week, along with weather that should run a little milder than normal.

Of a little concern will be the rather different weather pattern across the Northern Plains of the U.S. during the coming week. A rather wet pattern is expected for areas of the Northern Plains and western Midwest as a persistent front through the region helps gather moisture and develop showers. Some of this moisture could affect far southern areas of Manitoba at times. As we move to early June, an upswing in showers is also expected for Alberta.

Crops need a mix of sunshine, mild to warm weather, and periodic rainfall to achieve the best potential of growth. As it appears for now, the prospects for such a mix of conditions during the next couple of weeks looks good.

Thu Feb 26, 2015 09:37 AM CSTDespite some changes to the position of the jet stream and location of major weather features during the coming week, we will continue to see cold weather and little precipitation across Western Canada.

Thu Feb 19, 2015 02:11 PM CSTThe weather pattern is like a broken record with repeated surges of cold weather across central and eastern Canada with most of the central and eastern Prairies sharing in the cold. Alberta has seen temperatures vary from frigid to mild as arctic conditions play tag with Pacific air.

Thu Feb 19, 2015 11:29 AM CSTThe weather pattern is like a broken record with repeated surges of cold weather across central and eastern Canada with most of the central and eastern Prairies sharing in the cold. Alberta has seen temperatures vary from frigid to mild as arctic conditions play tag with Pacific air.

Thu Feb 12, 2015 10:52 AM CSTArctic air will take charge across most of Western Canada, where it has not been in place, during the next several days. A slight shift westward of the upper trough will allow for western expansion of bitter cold during the next week.

Thu Feb 5, 2015 11:45 AM CSTA cold air dome across the central and eastern part of Canada will keep the central and eastern Prairies cold during the next week or so but some Pacific air may bring periods of much milder temperatures to the southwest Prairies at times. Improving prospects for some snowfall are also in the cards.

Thu Jan 29, 2015 10:34 AM CSTExpanding amounts of arctic air across northern and central Canada are soon to make a return to Western Canada during the next few days and bring an end to the spring-like temperatures of the recent couple of weeks. The dry pattern is also expected to continue for most areas.

Thu Jan 22, 2015 09:50 AM CSTWinter is being kind to Western Canada as all of the cold weather remains across northeastern and eastern Canada. Pacific air has made it over the Rockies and sent temperatures to well-above-normal levels for most areas, but is mostly lacking precipitation.

Thu Jan 15, 2015 10:45 AM CSTCold weather has eased significantly across Western Canada during recent days and western parts of the Prairies have seen temperatures jump to well-above-normal levels. The mild pattern will last into next week but a new cold pattern may appear later this month.